BCS Week 12 Rankings: LSU, Oklahoma State Too High; Stanford, Ohio State Too Low
The BCS rankings for Week 12 have just come out, and we're going to be picking them apart every which way we can muster over the next several hours.
As always in our weekly thoughts, the first thing we need to determine is who is too high and who is too low.
It's going to be a little more difficult to do that this week after only six of the top 25 teams from last week's rankings went down—none of whom were in the top 10.
But we're going to do it anyway. Here are five teams who are too high and five who are too low.
Too High: No. 23 Utah
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Three weeks ago, the Utah Utes were undefeated and the No. 5 team in the land.
Now, they're a team riding a two-game losing streak that has seen them get outscored 75-10. And as if it wasn't bad enough that one of those losses was a 47-7 loss at home, the fact that they could get destroyed by a Notre Dame team using their backup quarterback is simply baffling.
In short, they've gone from being maybe overrated to an absolute ball-breaking, ugly scar of a bust. And I'm of the opinion that their recent play should leave them off the rankings altogether.
Too High: No. 19 Texas A&M
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There are some pretty good storylines surrounding the Aggies these days. Ryan Tannehill is undefeated in four games as a starter, they used some great goal-line stands to sink Oklahoma, and Mike Sherman has jumped off the hot seat with a vengeance.
But you'll have to excuse me if I'm just not quite sold yet.
My primary gripe is that I just don't think a win over Baylor should propel any team a full six spots in the standings from No. 25 last week to No. 19.
I mean, come on, Baylor isn't that good. The fact that the Aggies actually trailed the Bears, 30-14, at one point on Saturday should put the Aggies in a more damning light.
Too High: No. 15 Missouri
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While I do think the Tigers deserve credit for nice rebounding from their two-game losing streak with a win over Kansas State, I'm just not sold on them as a top-15 team.
While I'm not usually one to dwell too much on the whole "strength of schedule" nonsense, I just feel like the Tigers are lacking in the realm of trophy wins.
They may have started at a perfect 7-0, but only one of those wins was against a team that is currently ranked. That was against Texas A&M, who had yet to insert Ryan Tannehill at quarterback.
So you'll have to excuse me if I don't think a win at home against the now-unranked Wildcats, in which they were given the benefit of three turnovers by Carson Coffman, is enough to propel them ahead of teams like SEC East champ South Carolina and eventual ACC champ Virginia Tech.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Too High: No. 10 Oklahoma State
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I had Oklahoma State on this list last week, and I see no reason why I shouldn't stick to my guns just because they beat Texas.
I have nothing but respect for the Cowboys offense, which is third in scoring and has taken Oregon's top spot in terms of yardage. Justin Blackmon is a beast of a receiver, running back Kendall Hunter doesn't get nearly the credit he deserves, and I think quarterback Brandon Weeden is a great story.
But like Missouri, I just feel like they lack a true trophy win. They also have Texas A&M to thank for their only win against a currently ranked team. And like the Aggies, they beat a Ryan Tannehill-less Aggies team.
But the biggest reason I think they're too high is this: Alabama is a better team.
Too High: No. 5 LSU
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LSU is yet another team that I thought was too high last week, and I don't think a big win over Sun Belt power Louisiana-Monroe is enough to make me back off the Tigers.
There are things about LSU I like. It starts with their defense, which is sixth in the nation in scoring average, and has played tough against both Alabama and Auburn. And I think Les Miles is a hell of a coach.
But are they the best one-loss team in the country? I don't think so. They've played far too many close games, and they just don't have the kind of balance as teams like Stanford, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Ohio State.
Plus, they should have lost at home against Tennessee. You know that as well as I do.
But ho hum. LSU is one of a handful of college programs that is perennially overrated. Such is the way of things.
Too Low: No. 18 Nevada
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Now that I've gotten all the contempt for LSU out of my system, we can talk positively for a few moments.
Say what you will about Nevada's weak WAC-addled schedule, but surely they don't deserve better than to be the only one-loss team in the top 25 to be ranked behind five multi-loss teams.
After all, it's not like the Wolf Pack is merely scraping by every week. They're fourth in the nation in scoring, and they might have the best quarterback you've never heard of in Colin Kaepernick.
Much was made about how Cam Newton because just the eighth player in history to throw for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in the same season.
Well, Kaepernick has done that twice. And he needs just 54 more rushing yards to do it a third time.
Stud.
Too Low: No. 16 Virginia Tech
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I actually don't have too much of a problem with Va Tech's No. 16 ranking.
But because there are so many teams who are exactly where they belong, I'm going to go ahead and throw the Hokies on the "too low" list.
There's no denying that the Hokies finally got some recognition for being the nation's hottest team in these new rankings, as they moved up from No. 20.
But I still think they are being unfairly punished for the James Madison loss. Instead, why not look at the Boise State game instead. They lost by a mere three points, and it took a late Bronco touchdown to get the job done.
Besides, the writers have them at No. 14 and the coaches put them at No. 15, so my strictly human evaluation of the Hokies isn't all that outlandish.
Too Low: No. 11 Alabama
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I hinted at this when I made the case that Oklahoma State was too high, so now it's time to tackle the issue head on.
The fact is that among the two-loss teams who are on the cusp of the upper echelon, Alabama is the only one among them that truly deserves to be in the top 10.
Its only losses on the season were on the road against SEC East champ South Carolina and again on the road to No. 5 LSU. And if you're looking for an SEC team that is truly well-rounded, look no further.
The Tide are fourth in the SEC in total offense (430.3 yards per game) and are first in scoring defense. If it came down to a mano-a-mano with the Pokes, I'd bet heavy on the defending champs.
Once again the writers agree with me, as they too have Alabama cracking the top 10.
Too Low: No. 9 Ohio State
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When the Cornhuskers pulled off yet another rather unspectacular win for the second week in a row and the Buckeyes exploded in the second half to nab a convincing win against Penn State, I fully expected to find that the computers would come around to the fact that Ohio State is a more deserving one-loss team than the Cornhuskers.
In fact, at this point I just plain don't get it.
If the matter at hand is handed each one-loss team its lone black mark, then Ohio State is certainly the better team. Losing on the road to No. 7 Wisconsin is far more excusable than losing at home to Texas.
Once again, the humans are in agreement with me. Both the writers and the coaches have Ohio State above Nebraska.
(By the way, the reason I don't have Nebraska in my "too high" list is because the other teams were simply more deserving.)
Too Low: No. 6 Stanford
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I was just as alarmed as anybody by the Cardinal's relatively weak showing in Tempe on Saturday night, but I also think they're any worse off because of it.
Close game or no close game, Stanford still boasts the best loss of all their one-loss brethren. Despite the fact Oregon was humbled by Cal in a 15-13 win, managing to be competitive against them in Eugene is still worthy of a No. 5 high-five.
Of course, this will all be academic when Stanford loses in Berkeley next week.
Fact.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
